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The fact that NBC's new reality show Stars Earn Stripes is kind of an offensive concept should not distract you from the fact that it's stultifyingly boring as television and badly designed as a reality-competition show.

The bombing that began the July 22, 2011, attacks in Oslo could have been prevented and the massacre that followed on an island outside the city could have been stopped much sooner than it was, according to a report released today by an independent commission.

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JACKI LYDEN, HOST:

Now, from Olympic legacies to Hollywood legacies, we want to take a moment to pay tribute to a pioneer actor and director, Al Freeman, Jr. Freeman is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Nation of Islam leader, Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee's 1992 epic film "Malcolm X." Freeman's performance won him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "MALCOLM X")

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JACKI LYDEN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Jacki Lyden. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, we get the cross-cultural flavor of New Orleans music with writer and radio host, Gwen Thompkins. She talks to songwriters, musicians and producers in Louisiana for her program, Music Inside Out, and she shares their stories with us in just a few more minutes.

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JACKI LYDEN, HOST:

For many years here at NPR, Gwen Thompkins was an editor and then went to East Africa as a correspondent. She's always had a great ear, so perhaps it's not surprising that her brand-new music radio show called "Music Inside Out with Gwen Thompkins" listens to music in a revealing way. The show is from Gwen's hometown, New Orleans, and every week she talks to people in Louisiana who have devoted their lives to music - songwriters, musicians, producers, you name it.

Gwen Thompkins joins us now from WWNO in New Orleans. Congratulations.

Many conservatives were ecstatic with Mitt Romney's choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate. Even though few observers expect the ticket to draw much African-American support, conservative Lenny McAllister says black voters should give the team a chance. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with McAllister and the NAACP's Hilary Shelton.

More Americans are segregated by income today, than they were 30 years ago. That's according to a new Pew Research Center study looking at U.S. neighborhoods. Rice University sociologist Stephen Klineberg says income segregation is a direct result of a shrinking middle class. He speaks with guest host Jacki Lyden about these changes.

The Olympics are over, but guest host Jacki Lyden takes a look at the lasting impact of the Games on young people living in the neighborhoods around Olympic Park. She speaks with East London residents Amber Charles and Rumi Begum. Both young adults participated in the Olympic torch relay in recognition of their contributions to sports in the area.

A federal investigation into two researchers who wrote a famous report on drowned polar bears is finally over, according to their lawyer.

But the scientists still haven't been allowed to see a copy of the investigation report or its conclusions, says attorney Jeff Ruch of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Critics have charged that the two-year investigation was a witch hunt into researchers whose work had political implications.